Effects of Rust on Plant Growth and Stoichiometry of Leymus chinensis under Different Grazing Intensities in Hulunber Grassland

Yawen Zhang, Zhibiao Nan, Michael John Christensen, Xiaoping Xin and Nan Zhang
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Yawen Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Zhibiao Nan: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Michael John Christensen: Retired from AgResearch, Grasslands Research Centre, Private Bag 11-008, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
Xiaoping Xin: National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing 100081, China
Nan Zhang: School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-15

Abstract: Grazing is the main utilization of native grassland, and forage fungal disease is one of the limiting factors of grassland productivity. The present research in the Hulunber meadow steppe grassland was conducted to investigate the responses of the dominant plant Leymus chinensis (Trin.) to beef cattle grazing, rust, and their interaction influence. Six grazing intensity treatments with three replicates were established. The response of L . chinensis to grazing and rust was systematically studied for two consecutive years. The main findings were that grazing and rust had significant effects ( p < 0.05) on the growth and nutrient elements content of L . chinensis . Compared with the 0 cattle ha −1 treatment, the dry matter of L . chinensis in the 0.42, 0.63, and 1.67 cattle ha −1 treatments decreased by 42.2%, 90.5%, and 339.5%, respectively. Compared with non-infected plants, dry matter of rust-infected L . chinensis plants decreased by 45.6%. The N:C and P:C ratios of rust-infected plants were lower than in non-infected plants, and positively correlated with their relative growth rates. Therefore, we concluded that the growth rate hypothesis still applied in L . chinensis under the interactive effects of grazing and disease. Additionally, grazing can alleviate the loss of dry matter caused by disease.

Keywords: dry matter; ecological stoichiometry; grazing intensity; rust; Leymus chinensis; Hulunber meadow steppe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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